Late surge boosts Steve Saunders

LA QUINTA, Calif, -- Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament, birdieing his final four holes on PGA West's TPC Stadium Course for a 5-under 67. The 25-year-old Saunders, from Fort Collins, Colo., had a 17-under 199 after 54 holes in the six-day, 108-hole event that will determine player priority rankings for the Web.com Tour season. "I was just pretty steady all day today and gave myself a lot of opportunities," Saunders said. "I made a 30-footer for birdie on 17 and then hit it in the fairway...

Read More

Probation, fine for shooting golfer

RENO, Nev. -- A Reno man has been placed on probation and fined $1,000 for shooting a golfer whose errant ball broke a bedroom window at his home. Jeff Fleming was put on probation Thursday for up to five years at a sentencing hearing in Washoe County District Court. The 53-year-old Fleming faced as much as 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine after he earlier pleaded guilty to a felony charge of battery with a deadly weapon. Fleming's attorney, Larry Dunn, said Thursday his client fired his shotgun at the golfer from some 50 yards away...

Read More

Tax breaks power PGA Tour giving

The PGA Tour's nonprofit business model has allowed it to avoid paying up to $200 million in federal taxes over the past 20 years, and its tournaments -- designed to benefit local charities -- operate in ways that fall short of acceptable charitable practices, an "Outside the Lines" analysis of IRS data finds. The tour's charitable giving is a centerpiece of its golf events, tournament telecasts and website. The professional golf organization touts nearly $2 billion in donations over 75 years. Yet that philanthropy has been bolstered by...

Read More

Jimmy V event ending after 20 years

CARY, N.C. -- The golf tournament developed to honor the late Jim Valvano's efforts to fight cancer is coming to an end after 20 years. Organizers with The V Foundation announced in a statement that they are giving up the tournament to focus local efforts elsewhere, including a new partnership with the Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh Marathon. The foundation says it is looking for runners to join its charitable team in the marathon, scheduled for April 13. In its 20 years, the golf weekend drew about 500,000 spectators and raised about $13.5 million...

Read More

Cinks lead Father/Son Challenge

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Stewart Cink and son Connor birdied three of the last five holes Saturday for an 11-under 61 and a one-stroke lead in the Father/Son Challenge. Stewart Cink made an 8-foot birdie putt on the final at Grande Lakes in the scramble event. "We were a really good team out there," Stewart Cink said. "We had fun and fed off each other. This was a good time for us to spend together and it turned out today was a really good day of chemistry." Steve and Sam Elkington were second. Jack and Gary Nicklaus shot 63. The 73-year-old...

Read More

Matt Kuchar, Harris English up by 4

NAPLES, Fla. -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English took a four-stroke lead Saturday in the Franklin Templeton Shootout, playing the back nine in 9-under 27 in the better-ball round for a 12-under 60. Kuchar and English were 20 under the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort's Tiburon course. They opened with a 64 on Friday in modified alternate-shot play. The team event ends Sunday with a scramble. Retief Goosen and Freddie Jacobson were second after a 61. The teams of Ian Poulter-Lee Westwood and Charles Howell III-Justin Leonard were tied for third...

Read More

Van der Walt wins Mandela tourney

DURBAN, South Africa -- Dawie van der Walt shot a 4-under 66 Saturday to win the Nelson Mandela Championship by two shots, giving the tournament a South African victory in a week when the country bids farewell to its former president. Van der Walt finished with a three-round total of 15-under 195 as the sun eventually shone on the final day of the rain-shortened event. It was his second European Tour victory. England's Matthew Baldwin (68) and Spain's Jorge Campillo (68) were tied for second. Even before the rain disrupted the first two...

Read More

Phil Mickelson recalls the last time he tossed a golf club in anger

Phil Mickelson takes a walk down memory lane after his induction into the Phoenix Open Hall of Fame. Phil Mickelson has earned his stature as one of the most popular golfers on the PGA Tour, in no small part because of his affable nature. Turns out, fans can thank Phil’s father for his son’s aversion for throwing clubs à la Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson and, no doubt, a few other players who toil in relative anonymity. "One time I banged...

Read More

Top 25 golf stories of 2013, No. 7: Jason Dufner steals show from Tiger and Phil, wins PGA Championship

It was a breakout summer for one of golf's best characters, who picked up a career-defining win at Oak Hill in August. The summer was dominated by old hands Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson re-ascending to the top two spots in the world, but the year in golf also featured some new names emerging as superstar personalities, perhaps none bigger than Jason Dufner. The lumpy deadpan Auburn fanatic had made a dent on the world golf scene before...

Read More

Sergio Garcia’s hole-in-one is official, dual 59s are not, in overseas golf tourneys

Sergio Garcia rides an ace to a share of the lead in Thailand, while two golfers in South Africa card magical 59s but European Tour rules preclude them from entering the record books. Sergio Garcia, whose nearly 16-month winless skid has gone virtually unnoticed in the face of Tiger Woods’ and Rory McIlroy’s higher-profile droughts, scored an ace in Thailand to put himself on the brink of his first worldwide victory since he won the 2012...

Read More

Dawie Van der Walt wins the Nelson Mandela Championship in Durban

Dawie van der Walt held his nerve over the closing holes to win the Nelson Mandela Championship by two shots and claim only his second European Tour title. In a tournament reduced to 54 holes following several rain disruptions, the South African followed up rounds of 67 and 62 with a score of 66 to sit at the top of the pile on 15 under par in Durban. Ireland's David Higgins finished with a share of 11th place after a level-par 70 left...

Read More

Sergio Garcia pulls clear at Thailand Golf Championship

Sergio Garcia carded a second straight seven-under-par 65 to establish a four-shot lead after the third round of the Thailand Golf Championship in Chonburi. The Spaniard collected five of his eight birdies on the back nine, including on 17 and 18 to cap a superb day's work. He dropped just one shot, at the fourth, and was 18 under after 54 holes of at the star-studded Asian Tour event. "It was great obviously to be able to go out there...

Read More

Garcia aces to share Thailand lead with Justin Rose

Spaniard Sergio Garcia sank a magical hole-in-one in a sparkling round of seven-under-par 65 to share the halfway lead with Englishman Justin Rose at the Thailand Golf Championship. Garcia, 33, aced the par-three eighth hole at the Amata Spring Country Club to go with five birdies on his blemish-free card to lead at 11-under 133. "Yeah, wonderful day for sure," the Spaniard, chasing his first win of the year, told reporters. "I saw...

Read More

Brooks leads in rain-hit Mandela Championship as Campillo, Nel hit 59s

England's Daniel Brooks finished a rain-affected day three of the Nelson Mandela Championship at the top of the leaderboard after play was suspended due to bad light. Brooks was through 11 holes and was on 12-under-par when play was halted at 6.45pm local time in Durban, South Africa. However, the story of the day was Spain's Jorge Campillo and South African Colin Nel becoming the first players to card 59s on the European Tour – but their...

Read More